- Samsung will reportedly raise the price of some Galaxy S26 models
- This is likely due to rising memory costs
- In contrast, Apple will apparently absorb costs to keep iPhone 18 prices the same as the iPhone 17
Depending on whether you’re an Apple fan or in Samsung’s camp, the news on pricing this year could be either good or bad, as while Samsung is unsurprisingly reported to be raising its prices for the Galaxy S26 series, Apple might not for the iPhone 18 line.
According to dealer data from Sweden seen by WinFuture, Samsung could raise the starting price of the base model Galaxy S26 by almost €200 (roughly $240 / £175 / AU$340). Though you would at least apparently get twice as much storage for your money, with Samsung reportedly ditching the 128GB model and starting the Galaxy S26 at 256GB.
For reference, the Samsung Galaxy S25 starts at $799 / £799 (with no 128GB version available in Australia), but if you want 256GB it rises to $859 / £859 / AU$1,399. Still though, even that latter price is rather lower than what it sounds like the Samsung Galaxy S26 might start at.
For the Samsung Galaxy S26 Plus, the starting price is shown to be the same as last year, which would mean $999 / £999 / AU$1,699 if that’s true for other regions too. But oddly if you choose a 512GB configuration then you’ll apparently pay €230 (around $275 / £200 / AU$390) more than the Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus in that configuration.
There’s better news for the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra though, as the starting price of this will apparently be almost €100 (around $120 / £85 / AU$170) less than the $1,299 / £1,249 / AU$2,149 starting price of the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra.
A different approach
These price changes – and particularly the price rises – are almost certainly down to the rising price of RAM and flash memory. But while those memory prices will affect the whole industry, it seems Apple might absorb the costs to increase its market share.
A few quick thoughts on Apple/iPhone memory price hikes:1. The 1Q26 LPDDR price hikes mentioned in the news are pretty close to what I’ve heard. NAND flash increases, however, are a bit lower.2. iPhone memory pricing is now negotiated quarterly instead of every six months, so…January 27, 2026
This is according to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who claims Apple’s current plan is to at least keep the starting prices of these phones flat – so it sounds like higher storage versions might see a price increase.
Still, that would mean the iPhone 18 starts at $799 / £799 / AU$1,399, the iPhone 18 Pro at $1,099 / £1,099 / AU$1,999, and the iPhone 18 Pro Max at $1,199/ £1,199 / AU$2,149. That would be great news, especially as these are far from being cheap phones in the first place.
Of course, we’d take all of this with a pinch of salt for now, but at least as far as the Samsung Galaxy S26 series goes, we should find out how much these phones cost very soon, with leaks pointing to a February 25 launch.
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